Before executing two police officers while they sat in their car, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley allegedly murdered shot his girlfriend (she is expected to survive—earlier reports had her dead), then telegraphed his intentions via Instagram:

A gunman who announced online that he was planning to shoot two “pigs” in retaliation for the police chokehold death of Eric Garner ambushed two officers in a patrol car and shot them to death in broad daylight Saturday before running to a subway station and killing himself, authorities said.

The suspect, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, wrote on an Instagram account: “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs,” officials said. He used the hashtags Shootthepolice RIPErivGardner (sic) RIPMikeBrown.

I’ve been following these events as they’ve unfolded on Twitter and it’s been surreal.

The NYPD is essentially going off the rails now by declaring itself a ‘wartime’ police department. Pat Lynch, head of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association (PBA), has explicitly blamed Mayor De Blasio for race incitement and protestors for having the audacity to declare that black lives matter. Things are about to get really ugly.

FROM NYC PBA: Starting IMMEDIATELY- At least two units are to respond to EVERY call, no matter the condition or severity, no matter what type of job is pending, or what the opinion of the patrol supervisor happens to be. IN ADDITION: Absolutely NO enforcement action in the form of arrests and or summonses is to be taken unless absolutely necessary and an individual MUST be placed under arrest. These are precautions that were taken in the 1970’s when Police Officers were ambushed and executed on a regular basis. The mayors hands are literally dripping with our blood because of his words actions and policies and we have, for the first time in a number of years, become a “wartime” police department. We will act accordingly. FORWARD MESSAGE IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ANY AND ALL MOS

This is bad, really bad. Especially when taken with the additional context of an article from two days ago, reporting on secretly recorded comments from Pat Lynch:

Mayor Bill de Blasio acts more like the leader of “a f- -king revolution” than a city, police union president Pat Lynch said at a recent delegate meeting.

“He is not running the City of New York. He thinks he’s running a f- -king revolution,” said Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, during the private gathering in Queens last Friday.

Lynch, who was secretly recorded, also all but ordered a rule-book slowdown, according to the seven-minute tape obtained by Capital New York.

“If we won’t get support when we do our jobs . . . then we’re going to do it the way they want it,” Lynch said. “Let me be perfectly clear: We will use extreme discretion in every encounter.”

Lynch, when referring to de Blasio, encouraged members to be wary of what he called “enemies.” “Our friends, we’re courteous to them. Our enemies, extreme discretion,” he said. “The rules are made by them to hurt you. Well, now we’ll use those rules to protect us.”

What Lynch is saying sounds OK to me (except the part attacking the mayor). Cops should use caution and restraint in policing. They should only act when “necessary.” I don’t think he said they should stand down. If he did, he should be fired.

officers are turning their backs on the Mayor and getting signatures from officers stating that if they die, they don’t want the Mayor at their funeral. this is more than the overheated rhetoric of the head of the PBA. this is starting to look like a cop insurrection.

that’s idiotic, Craig. what policies led this man to kill his girlfriend, two cops and himself? what policies from the Mayor’s office led a cop to use a chokehold that the NYPD banned? what policies led to a non-indictment?

Petition demands “accountability” but makes no direct or indirect connection between the Mayor and the deaths. That’s scapegoating and smear in my opionion.

Is the Mayor presumed innicent, deserving of a hearing before peers? Or are you okay with that kind of vigilante “justice” as long as they have a uniform and badge. Vigilante implies volunteerism, which really isn’t appropriate here.

These are renegade cops — paid government servants — now self-appointed, sworn enemies of those who pay them for protection. I’m for real accountability all around, Mayor, cops, citizens too. Let the chips fall where they may.

I’ve worked on getting cameras on cops in a city in which there have been an extraordinary amount of unnecessary and unjustifiable (though they “justified” them all) police killings. We recently succeeded. However, cops who don’t want to wear them don’t have to, per their preexisting contract.

Now the cameras not only make the officers involved think twice before pulling the trigger, but it protects them when they’ve followed procedure.

The NYC PBA head can’t be “fired.” He works for the Association, not the mayor. The badges are upset because the mayor didn’t back the grand jury in the Eric Garner killing and they’re representing their membership, which is what they get to collect dues for.

The cops didn’t get murdered because of DeBlasio. They got killed because there was a known lunatic out there with gun. It was Markus Kaarma, who didn’t try to kill his partner first.